Council has provided 35 Afghan and Ukrainian refugee families with permanent homes in Peterborough

With the help of grant funding from the government’s Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF), the council purchased 40 properties in total which were all occupied in March this year.

The permanent accommodation for the refugee families comes with rent levels capped and Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.

An annual monitoring report on the council’s Housing Strategy 2024-29 stated: “The provision of these homes has not only allowed families to settle and integrate into life in Peterborough but also avoided additional demands on the Housing Needs service.”

The council has also sought to resolve the accommodation needs of single asylum seekers in Peterborough who have been granted leave to remain but have not been classed as priority need under the Housing Act 1996.

A communities team at the council has worked with Peterborough landlords to establish a supply of rooms in shared houses, with support from the authority’s Housing Needs service which provided access to rental deposits to secure accommodation.

“This support has become increasingly important since the government’s decision in November 2024 to accommodate asylum seekers waiting for their asylum claim to be decided in the Dragonfly Hotel in Peterborough,” the annual monitoring report stated.

“Once someone is granted leave to remain, they have to leave asylum accommodation and then face the challenge of finding accommodation.”

Frequent protests have taken place outside the Dragonfly Hotel since 146 asylum seekers were moved in last year.

Residents and politicians, including local Labour MPs Andrew Pakes and Sam Carling and the Conservative combined authority mayor Paul Bristow, have spoken out against the hotel being used in this way.